Man jailed over messages to online child sex decoy

Andrew Bowes was already subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order before his arrest on 1 September

A registered sex offender who arranged to meet what he thought was an underage girl has been jailed.

Andrew Bowes, who was already subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), had exchanged messages with someone he believed was 14 years old, but who was in fact a decoy from an online child activist group.

The 48-year-old, of Oakwood Road, Balby, asked the person to send him indecent images and then suggested they meet up.

At Sheffield Crown Court on 25 September, Bowes pleaded guilty to child sex offences and breaching the SHPO and was jailed for three years.

When Bowes was arrested on 1 September, his devices were searched and the messages between him and the decoy from the online child activist group were found, South Yorkshire Police said.

Shortly before his arrest, he was heard saying that he was “only messing about”, police added.

At the time, he was already subject to a 10-year SHPO which started in 2020.

Fiona Booth, the officer in charge of the case, said Bowes’ advances were “inappropriate”.

"Bowes posed a high level of risk and we are pleased he has been given an immediate three-year custodial sentence," she said.

Bowes pleaded guilty at Sheffield Crown Court to three counts of breaching his SHPO, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.